Superfund receives three new additions to national priorities list

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added three new hazardous waste sites that put people's health and the environment in jeopardy to its National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites.

The program was developed to investigate and cleanup the most complicated, uncontrolled, or abandoned hazardous waste zones in the country.

"Superfund cleanups take contaminated properties and make them safe places for people and the environment," said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER). "They can also return these properties to communities for productive use, which translates into job creation, increased property values, enhanced local tax bases, and improved quality of life."

Since 1983, 1,664 sites have been added to the NPL, 359 of which have already been cleaned up. With the three newest additions, 1,305 sites are waiting to be cleaned, and another 59 proposed sites are awaiting final action to be added to the list.